Q Poll: Nelson Holds Small Lead Over Mack

By Kevin Brennan

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., has a narrow lead over GOP Rep. Connie Mack in his campaign for a third term, according to a Quinnipiac poll released Thursday.

The survey, which was conducted before Sen. George LeMieuxdropped out of the race Wednesday, shows Nelson leading Mack 43 percent to 39 percent among registered voters. Forty-six percent said Nelson deserved to be reelected, compared to 33 percent who said the senator does not deserve another term. The results represent a small improvement for Nelson, who trailed Mack 42 percent to 41 percent last month in Quinnipiac's previous poll.

President Obama showed a more robust improvement than Nelson in the latest poll. Obama leads Mitt Romney 46 percent to 42 percent after trailing the former Massachusetts governor 47 percent to 41 percent in May.

Mack has a huge lead over the GOP primary field, outpacing LeMieux 41 percent to 8 percent. Retired Army Col. Mike McCalister and former Rep. Dave Weldon finished at 5 percent and 3 percent, respectively. Thirty-nine percent of GOP voters said they are undecided, but Mack is expected to easily capture the GOP nomination.

The survey of 1,697 registered voters has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 2.4 percentage points, while the subsample of 698 Republican voters has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3.7 percentage points. The poll was conducted June 12 through June 18.

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